


Tell Me a Story

by DigitalMoriarty



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: Apocalypse
Genre: Fluff, M/M, fairy tale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:11:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7634470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigitalMoriarty/pseuds/DigitalMoriarty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Tell me a story?"<br/>"What sort of story?"<br/>"A fairy tale."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell Me a Story

**Author's Note:**

> So, hey, blame scarletwix on tumblr for this being here. In fact, blame them for all of my Nightsilver, it saves time.
> 
> Edit: Oh sweet merciful muses this somehow ended up with fanart. Allow me to flail with glee! Thank you both so much!
> 
>  
> 
> [The first amazing piece](http://lololex.tumblr.com/post/148428607955/tell-me-a-story-what-sort-of-story)  
> [The second amazing piece ](http://orange-helius.tumblr.com/post/148364525503/illustration-to-tell-me-a-story-by)
> 
> Edit 2: I have the best friends. I do. Lookit the pretty Scarletwix made for this?  
> [So pretty](http://scarletwix.tumblr.com/post/149358212913/aesthetic-tell-me-a-story-digitalmoriarty)

"Alright, there was this family-"   
"That's not how it goes!"   
"Do you want a story or not?"

"Tell it  _ properly _ ."

"Fine, fine.  _ Once upon a time  _ there was this family."   
"Have you never seen a fairy tale?"   
"Be quiet you. So, there was this family, and they lived in a nice little house…

 

In the middle of the woods. And the woods were often dark and often scary, but the family wasn't afraid. There was the mother, who had once been a laughing girl, but who had sold her laughter and smiles to a man, in exchange for two children. There was her daughter, who was smart and lovely and full of the magic of many worlds. And her son, who was not as smart and not as lovely-

 

"Stop giving me that look. It's a story."

" _ I _ say her son was just as smart and just as lovely."

"Oh for- fine, he was just as smart and just as lovely, will you stop with the puppy eyes?"

"Yes. You can keep going now."

"Why  _ thank you _ …

 

Now, her son did not have his sister's magic, but he could see the flapping of a hummingbird's wings and run faster than the wind. And their mother never told them about their father, the man who she sold her laughter and smiles to, but she loved them both so much that neither of them cared too much. And so they lived happily in their nice little house in the middle of the woods, and didn't care what the people in the village might whisper about them. Until one day, a man and his two companions came to their door. And this was very strange, because people didn't go into the woods, because they were dark and scary and so people didn't visit the family. But the man and his two companions weren't afraid. They had come to the nice little house on a quest, and they needed help. Someone was being held prisoner, and they wanted him free.

 

"Someone?"   
"Someone. Stop interrupting. The man and his two companions asked the siblings to come with them…

 

Or rather, they asked the woman's son, but there was nothing in the little house that her daughter did not hear and know, even if she wasn't there. And his mother was afraid, because without smiles and laughter inside, there was empty space which fear was all too happy to fill. But his sister gave him her blessing, and told him that she would keep their mother safe. And so he went with the trio on their quest. And oh, the young man hated to go so slow, when he was used to running faster than the wind. But as they headed for the castle where the prisoner was being held, he was kept from madness by exploring. Because he had never been far from the wood where the house hid, and the world was much larger than he'd thought. And it was while he was roaming, he discovered something special. A small golden cage, and inside the most beautiful bird he had ever seen. It had a long, graceful tail and elegant wings and was the most amazing shade of blue to have ever graced the world. And the cage was strong, and resisted the boy's attempts to open it. And while he was very good at picking locks, the door would not cooperate. While he tried, the bird watched him and sang a soft song, like nothing he'd heard before. Eventually he was forced to give up. But he made the bird a promise.

 

"I will come back, and I will free you, for something so beautiful should not be trapped in a cage."

 

And the bird spoke and said "Be careful witch's brother. If you free me from this cage, I will become a monster."

And the boy did not believe him, and replied "If the monster you become is half as beautiful as you are now, the world will thank me for releasing you."

 

And with that he left. And he did not tell the man and his two companions about the bird and the golden cage, because he didn't trust them to know the bird was lying about becoming a monster. Because he knew about monsters, and while he could only see the beating of a hummingbird's wings and not within the hearts and minds of beasts and men, he knew what was within his own.

 

"Are you saying the boy was a monster?"   
"He might have been. He did grow up in a dark and scary forest."   
"Well,  _ I _ say that just made him brave. He's not a monster."

"Who's story is this?"   
"Mine. Because you're telling it to me. Now keep going."

"So bossy… Alright, fine, the boy wasn't a monster, but he sometimes thought he was. And he knew that the bird, which was so beautiful and sang so sweetly, wasn't one…

 

So he kept it a secret, and four men went together to the castle. And it was well guarded, with soldiers and strong walls, but those soldiers and strong walls couldn't keep out the wind, and they couldn't keep out the son of the woman who sold her laughter and smiles. And within he found a room of glass, and the prisoner trapped inside. And when he asked "Why are you kept in such a prison? Surely bars of iron would be better than panes of glass?" the prisoner told him "The iron would obey me, and the glass will not."

 

And the boy knew that the prisoner was like himself, and his sister, and the trio of men who had brought him here. And as he broke the glass, and took the man from his cell, he thought of the bird and the cage. The metal cage. For surely, he thought, if bars of iron would listen to the man he had saved, the golden cage that kept the bird trapped would listen as well. But such thoughts were forced from his mind, when the soldiers attempted to stop them from leaving. But they couldn't do anything, not against someone who could run faster than the wind. And the four of them escaped the castle with the prisoner. But the witch's brother faced a problem now. For the prisoner, and the man and his two companions were wanted across the kingdoms, and it was not safe for them to take the young man back to the forest, and the house it hid. And he was unsure what he should do. But he knew, in his heart of hearts, that he had to keep his promise to the bird. And so, while the men and the prisoner he'd freed bickered about what they should do next, he went off to find the cage and the bird. Because if he could not bring the man who spoke to metal to the cage, he would bring the cage to him.

 

He found the cage in the forest again, and the bird was just as beautiful as he remembered.

 

"I have found someone who can help me free you. I must only take you to him, and I am certain he can free you!"   
"Be careful witch's brother. I tell you again, if you free me, I will become a monster."

"And I still do not believe you. For you are beautiful and sing so sweetly and even if you do become a monster, the world will thank me for setting you free."

 

And he had to go much more slowly on the way back, because he didn't want to hurt the bird, but even then he made it back before they had made a decision.

 

"That seems like a very long time to argue."   
"Yes, well, they had a lot to argue about. And it wasn't like he took days getting back… Now let me finish. So, carrying the cage and the bird, he went to the man who spoke to metal.

 

"I freed you from your prison," he said.   
"Yes, I know." replied the man, who did not look pleased at being interrupted.

 

But the young man didn't back down.

 

"In return, I need you to open this cage."

 

And the man looked at the cage and shook his head.

 

"I cannot. For that cage is made of gold, and gold will not listen to my commands."

 

And the boy, who could see the beating of a hummingbird's wings and run faster than the wind, was sure he would cry. Because he did not know how to find a key to the cage door, and he did not know how to pick the lock, and it would seem no one could help him. But then he heard his sister's voice, she who had the magic of many worlds.

 

"Let your tears flow brother. Because tears have magic all their own."

 

So he let himself weep. And when his tears hit the cage, it melted away. Because whoever had trapped the bird within had been certain that no one would ever cry for something which was sure it would become a monster. And as soon as the gold had become a shimmering puddle, the bird began to transform.

 

Its legs lengthened, and its feathers faded and its beak flattened. But what the transformation left behind wasn't human.

 

"So the bird became a monster?"   
"Did I say it became a monster? I just said it wasn't human. Let me finish telling the story, alright? It might not have been human, but it was just as beautiful as it had been before. 

 

It was the same shade of perfect blue, and it still had an elegant tail, made of flesh rather than feathers. Its eyes became large and lovely and the same gold as the cage that had once held it captive. Across its skin were swirling patterns, and its hair was dark and looked as soft as goose down. And for all its teeth were sharp, when it smiled it was even more lovely than the bird had ever been. And the boy who could run as fast as the wind knew he had been right to set the bird free, even as he scrubbed away his tears.

 

"You freed me. And I am no longer the bird you knew."   
"No. You are more beautiful than the bird I knew, and while your voice is not the same, I am certain you could still sing as sweetly."

"But I am a monster."   
"If someone sees you as a monster, that is their problem. For you are no more monstrous than you were before. Will you come with me, to my home in the woods? Will you meet my sister, who told me how to free you and my mother who sold her laughter and smiles so that I could be born?"

"I would be happy to come with you, for you set me free and do not see me as a monster."

 

And so the boy left the man and his two companions and the prisoner to their bickering and their staring and ran with his new friend all the way back to his home in the woods. Because it was much more important to him that his family meet the person who had been a bird than to listen to even more argueing. And when his sister saw the person, with their blue skin and their gold eyes, she smiled and told her brother to hold him close, because this was a person who could give him happily ever after. And when his mother saw the person, with their soft dark hair and their sweet smile, she smiled back, for the first time since she sold away her smiles and laughter.

 

And so they did live happily ever after, because that's how stories go..."

 

Pietro trailed off, shifting a little to look at Kurt, who'd finally fallen asleep. Smiling, he pressed a kiss to the other mutant's still over-warm forehead, and slipped out of the bed, making sure the blankets were secure before he left the room.

 

"How is he?"   
"Still sick. But he's asleep."   
  


Mystique, who'd been waiting outside, nodded approvingly.

 

"Go train. I'll keep an eye on him while you're gone."

"If he wakes up, let him know where I went? And that I'm bringing him soup."   
"Of course."

 

With a jaunty salute, the silver haired man zipped off, leaving the blue skinned woman to her vigil.

 

And in his room, Kurt turned a bit, and dreamed of birds and cages and happily ever after.


End file.
